Report of Afghan elections
Sam Zarifi | 19.09.2005 07:48
The polls here in Kabul have just officially closed.
I've talked to the teams; each is at a different polling station, watching polling staff seal the ballot boxes and pack up the stations.
The process overall seems to have been free of major violence, although there were some isolated attacks reported. We'll see what further information comes in overnight.
The logistics of the vote seemed to go smoothly as well. The only major problem (which we expected) was that the complexity of the ballots confused a lot of voters, especially illiterate voters. A lot of voters, especially women in rural areas, were confused about the voting process, didn't know how to vote, or didn't have any idea of whom to vote for.
There were also some limited cases of apparent fraud, including cases of under-age voters, some as young as 10 years old.
In any case, the Afghan people showed that they're committed to an electoral process, even if it was flawed. The enthusiasm they have shown for the process has been wonderful, people have braved attempts at intimidation by the remnants of the Taliban in particular women who have walked with heads held high past groups of men trying to stop them voting. A combination of Afghan army and police backed by NATO forces controlled the major voting areas and this worked well.
It has been interesting to see the attitude of the people to NATO troops compared to the Presidential elections some months ago when many believed the Taliban who told them NATO troops would shoot those who failed to vote for their choice. This time people realised the vote was secret and that troops would protect them, as a consequence of this many people, again in particular women bought small gifts of food or textiles for soldiers.
It is too early to predict possible winners but I will report further when more is known
I've talked to the teams; each is at a different polling station, watching polling staff seal the ballot boxes and pack up the stations.
The process overall seems to have been free of major violence, although there were some isolated attacks reported. We'll see what further information comes in overnight.
The logistics of the vote seemed to go smoothly as well. The only major problem (which we expected) was that the complexity of the ballots confused a lot of voters, especially illiterate voters. A lot of voters, especially women in rural areas, were confused about the voting process, didn't know how to vote, or didn't have any idea of whom to vote for.
There were also some limited cases of apparent fraud, including cases of under-age voters, some as young as 10 years old.
In any case, the Afghan people showed that they're committed to an electoral process, even if it was flawed. The enthusiasm they have shown for the process has been wonderful, people have braved attempts at intimidation by the remnants of the Taliban in particular women who have walked with heads held high past groups of men trying to stop them voting. A combination of Afghan army and police backed by NATO forces controlled the major voting areas and this worked well.
It has been interesting to see the attitude of the people to NATO troops compared to the Presidential elections some months ago when many believed the Taliban who told them NATO troops would shoot those who failed to vote for their choice. This time people realised the vote was secret and that troops would protect them, as a consequence of this many people, again in particular women bought small gifts of food or textiles for soldiers.
It is too early to predict possible winners but I will report further when more is known
Sam Zarifi